Rained overnight (again), which made us reconsider our plan to stay an extra night here but the appearance of blue sky and sunshine again next morning reinspired us. Forecast bit dodgy – suggested afternoon rain and possible thunderstorms (eek!). Walked up to Vereker Outlook today and lunched among the tumbled granite boulders at the top. Great views across water in two directions but very little wildlife or even bird song. Not sure if this is to do with the fires through this area last year or just a quiet place for birds. Brief glimpses of possible swamp wallabies on two occasions but quite timid creatures and didn’t hang around long enough to be identified. Grey sky but no rain when we got back to the car so checked out Squeaky Beach on the way back to Tidal River camp. Great squeaky sand when you drag your feet through it!
Exhausted by this time (despite only managing 6 km today!) so collapsed back at camp with a coffee. Eventually forced ourselves to wander down the Loo Errn track (flat riverside walk next to camp with boardwalk sections over wetlands – listed in track notes as “suitable for the mobility impaired” so just the ticket!). Set off without the camera and of course the reflections over the river in the early evening light were amazing! Wandered over the footbridge to the start of the track from Tidal River to Squeaky Beach and saw a wombat just up the way – ran all the way back (well almost all the way back as couldn’t quite manage to keep up the pace) for the damn camera. Wombat, of course, was just disappearing into the bushes near Chris on return. Waving fern branches indicated his (or her, whose sexist when it comes to wombats?) passage down towards the river. Then a second line of waving ferns pointed to another wombat not far from the first. Obviously not welcome in first wombat’s territory judging by the chase that ensued – down to the river, through the bushes then round and back up the track towards us…… straight towards us in fact, at a rattling pace! They both swerved around me then the first veered off the track again just short of Chris, while the aggressor cannoned straight into his shin before following the first down the hill again. Subsequently learned that wombats are the only mammals (apart from humans) with clavicles – they’re certainly built like small tanks. Eventually both ended up back on the river bank, with the loser slinking off across the river to the other side, presumably no longer in his rival’s territory, so leaving the other to concentrate fiercely on the grass on his river bank.
Left over Madras chicken curry tonight then bed. Still no thunderstorm or rain!